I had to miss Lucia, mostly because of the weather. Maybe I'm not sorry, although I once saw a production where the tenor stole the show...and, of course, he has, shall we say, the last word. The soprano is gone after the mad scene and the third act belongs to Edgardo.

Originally posted by Barbara:Let me make a guess here...La Pique Dame is one of Andrew's favorite operas. Yes/No?

Actually, not really. I'm always happy to see it (and Opera North are putting it on next season), but it's a rather chilly work. I don't really feel for any of the characters - Herman is mad, Lisa is a cipher ... Lots of good music, of course (I particularly like the genre stuff. And Yeletsky's aria.). I heard about half of it on Saturday and it sounded quite good.

I heard almost all of it on the radio (it's one of my top 5 Rossini operas). Stellar cast! All the singers were in good voice, though because this is late Rossini, Flórez isn't able to indulge in the usual pyrotechnics and sometimes sounds a bit too fluttery in the legato stuff.

I saw it at the movie theater. Zoned out a couple times during Act I when Rossini kept making the same moves for minutes on end, but otherwise -- well, this is the sort of cast that will be spoken of with awe in years to come. Florez and DiDonato are as good as it gets, and Damrau turns out to be a witty comedienne as well as a star vocalist. With her pale blondeness and her arched-eyebrow comedy timing, she was at times uncannily reminiscent of Meryl Streep in relaxed lightweight mode.

The bedroom scene was hilarious...as ludicrous as the rest of the plot, but that was part of the fun, not a distraction from it. All three leads sounded great. And hurray for Juan Diego Florez's show-must-go-on attitude. It couldn't have been easy to concentrate after becoming a first-time father 35 minutes before the opera started.

I loved the way Damrau played Adele, as a woman trying her best to be a typical romantic heroine (innocent, delicate, swooning on cue), but constantly being tripped up when reality got in the way. Good comedy. There was some beautiful love music in there, too. Rather unexpected.

In Roanoke we are not getting Comte D'ory until May 1 for some reason....but I am really looking forward to Capriccio tomorrow afternoon...expect there will be a slim crowd because of Easter/spring break.